dairy-free caramels

It just doesn't seem like the holidays without some homemade caramels. And I've come up with a dairy-free recipe that works! Try it, you'll like it (just try not to eat the whole pan ;)

1 cup softened or melted non-dairy margarine (I use Nucoa)

1 pound light brown sugar

1 "can" sweetened condensed soymilk (3/4c powdered soymilk + 3/4 c sugar + 1/2 c hot water, 

whisked together)

1 cup light corn syrup

1 pinch salt

1/2 TB vanilla (optional)

1. Make your sweetened condensed soymilk by whisking the ingredients together until you have a smooth, thick sweetened condensed milk.

2. Grease a 9x13 pan.

2. Combine all incredients in a heavy-bottom saucepan and heat over medium to medium-high heat until you reach a "soft ball" state (the caramel turns into a soft ball when a little is drizzled into a dish of ice-cold water). Note: At high altitudes this happens at about 225 degrees, but closer to sea level, you should reach soft ball around 235 degrees. Stir nearly constantly to avoid scalding.

3. Once caramel has reached desired consistency, pour into pan, then put in refrigerator for a few hours to set. Cut in squares and wrap in waxed paper.

Enjoy!

egg substitutes

Eggs are irreplaceable. Let's just start with that. There is no such thing as a perfect egg replacer. Eggs have the unique qualities of being able to both leaven (raise) and congeal (bind). And nothing I've found can truly take the place of an egg in a recipe.

But that doesn't mean that you can't bake without eggs. You absolutely can! Do you think mankind has always had a coup full of chickens around to use at their disposal? Of course not.

Unfortunately, eggs have been available long enough in our history that most people have no idea how to bake without them. And no cookbook would ever have a recipe for muffins that didn't have at least one egg listed as one of the main ingredients.

For recipes that call for eggs, I like to use Ener-G Egg Replacer (but whatever you do, don't try it with a box mix. You will end up with goop. I promise. And I have no idea why). But it works great with most from-scratch cookie, quick bread, muffin, etc. recipes.

If you don't have egg replacer on hand, you can increase the amount of baking powder/soda a recipe calls for (usually by about double), to make up for the lack of leavening from the egg (just remember that if you are using only baking soda, you also need a small amount of acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, to get the powder to activate). Then just add a little more water or dairy free milk to make up for the loss of binding moisture. The problem with doing this is that sometimes gives the baked good that soda-y flavor, that isn't necessarily the most desirable thing at all times... just don't overdo it and you should be okay, and pick up some egg replacer for next time ;)

I've come across quite a few recipes that replace eggs with tofu. Personally, I don't like the taste of tofu (I know they say it's tasteless, but maybe I just have really good tastebuds?). I have tried some of these recipes, and honestly, the ones I've tried so far turn out okay, and the result is like "hey, this is actually edible". But when I got to the trouble of making something, I would really prefer if the reaction is more like, "hey, I want more of that" because it's so delicious, not just that it can *surprisingly* be tolerated.

Some people use 1/2 a banana, mashed, in place of the eggs in a recipe. That's just fine if you don't mind your creation tasting like banana ;) which is why I've never actually had occasion to try that one out...

rice flour banana bread muffins (gluten, egg, dairy, & nut free)

Recipe adapted from here.

When we had my daughter's allergies tested the first time (she was about 9 months old), the test came back positive for wheat. Which was weird, because we had been giving her wheat with no apparent reaction in the past. So the dr. told us to go ahead and keep feeding it to her.

Now, let me tell you something about me. I looooove bread. Seriously, if someone were to ask me for my favorite food... it would probably be bread. So the possibility of having a wheat-allergic child was not a pretty thought. But since it didn't seem to be bothering her we kept feeding it to her.

Well, about a month ago (nearly a year from her first allergy test) she started getting hives from spaghetti (her favorite food, of course). And we were like, "what?!" It turns out it was the wheat AND the tomato sauce, but that's a story for another day.

And has led me into the wonderful world of wheat-free baking. Not gluten-free baking (though they often coincide). No, she's allergic to the specific proteins in the wheat... not just the gluten. So thankfully, I can use things like oats with no worries (note: pure oats are always gluten free. the problem with oats is that they are manufactured on shared equipment, or grown next to a wheat field and become contaminated).

But for today, here is one of my first attempts into wheat-free baking. It didn't turn out half bad, but I have to tell you. When you use rice flour exclusively, the result is gritty. Don't expect the texture to be just the same as it would be if you were using wheat. It's just a whole different thing. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just different, and something I'm sure will take some getting used to for me. And despite the gritty texture, I had no problem downing 3 of these fresh and warm from the oven.

Wet mix:
3 very ripe medium sized bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/3 c softened dairy free margarine (or vegetable oil, minus a couple tablespoons)
2/3 c sugar
1 TB Ener-G egg replacer + 4 TB hot water, mixed separately before adding to batter (if you don't have this, try adding an extra 1/2 tsp of baking soda, and 4TB of water)
3 TB dairy free milk of your choice (or water)
1 tsp white or apple cider vinegar

Dry mix:
2 c rice flour (brown or white)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine mashed bananas, softened margarine/oil, sugar, egg mixture, milk and vinegar. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then add to wet mixture and stir until smooth. Grease/spray 12 muffin tins, and fill each cup about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the biggest muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!

my favorite Dairy-Free Butter/Margarine/Spread Replacements

Nucoa is my number one favorite for baking. It tastes decent, it's dairy free, it works for baking, it's inexpensive and widely available. The downside is that it's full of saturated fat (18% of your daily value in 1 TB). So, not ideal for morning toast. But for baking cookies, sauteing, and even making caramel--it works great.

Smart Balance Light is a good option that's available at many grocery stores. It's low on saturated fat and high on Omega-3's. The downside is that it doesn't taste very good. It's edible, just not delicious by any standard (a plain piece of toast with this slathered on top is less than appetizing).

Lately our everyday favorite is Blue Bonnet Light. Blue Bonnet Light is sold all over the place and it tastes good. The downside is that it doesn't contain as many "healthy fats" as, say Smart Balance. But hey, it tastes better. And how much of it do you really eat anyway, right?

photo credit: walmart.com

Okay, and number one on my list for everyday spreading is Earth Balance Coconut Spread. Coconut oil does have quite a bit of saturated fat, but some recent research has shown that the medium chain fatty acids that compose the saturated fats in coconut are less harmful than the saturated fat from animals we consume (which makes sense to me). But to me, this spread tastes the most like actual butter than anything else I've tried and is especially good on toast, muffins, etc. The coconutty flavor throws me for a bit of a loop when I spread this on a potato, but that might just be me.

photo credit: foodservicedirect.com

There are, of course, other options available. I've tried clarified butter (ghee), which is supposed to be okay for dairy allergies (since all of the proteins are theoretically removed). It's high in saturated fat and in my opinion, tastes strangely waxy. And there are other vegan options out there that I just haven't tried.

my allergy story, in a nutshell

I grew up with allergies. I couldn't eat all sorts of things. Thanks to an amazing mother, I survived primarily on beans and peas and broccoli and oatmeal. And my allergies came with the common triad of eczema and asthma, so I was accustomed to itching, wheezing, and feeling generally miserable (and sometimes nearly dying) thanks to typically harmless things in my environment... but of course I didn't know the difference ;)

Luckily, I outgrew nearly all of my allergies by the age of 12 or so (except the eczema, which drives me crazy to this day). So I had almost forgotten what it was like to touch someone's cereal bowl and break out in itchy hives, or take a bite of a cookie, and realize it must have had nuts in it as my lips and tongue started to swell...

I had almost forgotten until my daughter was born.

While I was pregnant with her, I found myself completely intolerant to milk. When she was being cared for in the hospital nursery, the nurses asked me if they could give her some formula. And I just knew she would be allergic. Thank goodness I didn't let them give it to her.

The nurses told me I could eat anything while breastfeeding--that it wouldn't affect her--but by two weeks, her tiny body was covered in head-to-toe rash, and I began eliminating foods from my diet. Now she is nearly two years old, and her list of allergies keeps growing. Dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, lentils, olives & olive oil, mushrooms, cucumbers, wheat (mild), tomatoes, etc. It seems like we are always scratching our heads, looking at the hives on our little girl's face and thinking, "What did it this time?"

Naturally, I've been cooking according to her needs for the past while, so I hope to share some help and some hope for other allergy sufferers out there.

I was so frustrated when I first started trying to bake for an allergic diet. For a while I tried to do all my cooking and baking with the most basic ingredients. After some time, though, I've found that although having specialty ingredients on hand for such a specialized diet is probably the trickiest part of this whole thing--it's worth it. I've found staples that I love, are locally carried, and I can keep on hand (even if it does mean running to 4 different store for one week's shopping trip). And sooo many things are available online now that even if the local grocer doesn't carry the ingredients I need, Amazon surely does ;)

I hope you find some recipes and tips you like here. Dealing with allergies can be a frustrating and isolating experience, but there are lots of other people just like you out there, including me :)